ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Spurs @ Rockets 12/3/2002

I am very glad that I was wrong with my prediction on the Spurs win, the future is here and Yao's the MAN!

 

1st quarter
12:00 Yao starts the game at center. Maurice Taylor starts in the power forward spot. Yao wins the tip over David Robinson.
11:47 On the Rockets first offensive possession of the game, Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot on the left side about 14 feet away from the basket. He quickly turns and shoots a fadeaway jumper, but misses. It's nice to see the Rockets trying to get Yao warmed up quickly on their first possession.
10:41 Again, Yao gets the ball in his favorite spot. With his back facing the basket, he dribbles left, then pivots right, pump fakes Robinson, then takes two big steps toward the baseline to put more distance between himself and Robinson. As his momentum is carrying him out of bounds, he shoots a fallaway jumper over Robinson practically from behind the backboard...and SWISH!! The Rockets lead 4-2, and Yao is 1-2 from the field.
8:33 Intimidation The Spurs run a pick-and-roll between Robinson and Steve Smith. Yao switches away from Robinson and contests a jumper by sharpshooter Smith, who has to arc the ball high over Yao's 7'6" frame (and block attempt) at the elbow of the free throw line. Smith misses, and the Rockets gain possession.
7:43

+
Free
Throw Posting up Robinson along the baseline on the left edge of the lane, Yao quickly puts up a right-handed sky hook that misses short. But Yao is able to grab the rebound over Robinson. Yao brings it down and goes right back up with it about 3 feet from the basket. Tim Duncan is behind Yao and is able to put his hand on the ball as Yao has the ball over his head as he goes up with it, BUT YAO IS STRONG ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OF THE BALL, LAY IT IN, AND ROBINSON ON THE OTHER SIDE HACKS HIM AND IS CALLED FOR A FOUL! Great strength shown by Yao to not let the ball come out of his hands. And a beautiful site to see him powering through the "Twin Towers" of the Spurs.

Yao makes the 'AND 1' free throw, and he's 2-4 from the field with 5 points. The Rockets lead 11-10.
6:14 From his favorite spot on the left side, Yao is being guarded by Robinson while dribbling with his back to the basket. Yao dribbles left a couple of steps, then shoots a fadeaway jumper, which is too strong off the back iron. As we expected might happen after the Houston Chronicle article from yesterday, Yao is getting more touches after shooting the ball in four possessions over a six minute span.
5:54 On the following Spur possession, Robinson tries to zip a pass inside from the top of the key with Yao guarding him, but Yao reacts quickly and catches the bullet in mid-air for a supposed steal--however, the ref calls a foul on Kenny Thomas for impeding the movement of the intended recipient (Duncan) of the pass. But GREAT REFLEXES shown by the big guy, as well as using his height and jumping ability to intercept the pass of a 7-footer like The Admiral.
5:39 Steve Francis drives the lane and misses a layup, but the always-hustling Yao isn't too far away. On the missed shot, Yao is behind Robinson and Duncan BUT IS ABLE TO TIP THE BALL OVER ROBINSON FOR THE BUCKET. The Twin Towers' height appears to be a non-factor tonight. Yao is now 3-6 from the field with 7 points. The Rockets tie the score 15-15.
5:11 From his favorite spot, Yao faces up toward the basket (he's always trying something different from this spot) and goes up for a jump shot over Robinson, but he misses. Yao is now 3-7 from the field.
3:54 Free
Throws Francis misses a jumper and the ball bounces high off the rim. Yao is standing in the middle of the lane and outhustles Robinson to grab the rebound and goes up for a shot under the bucket, but he's fouled from behind by The Admiral. Robinson checks out of the game with his second foul, and Kevin Willis checks in. Yao hits both free throws. He now has 9 points (3-3 from the free thrown line) and 6 rebounds.
3:42 Intimidation Spur guard Tony Parker drives the lane with Yao underneath the basket, but Yao's attempt to swat it away makes Parker loft the shot higher than normal. The ball clangs off the rim and Yao grabs the rebound.
3:32 Intimidation Kevin Willis shoots a jumper over Yao from the left side about 18 feet away, but his shot is short. Yao is able to tip away the missed shot. Eventually on this Spur possession, Tony Parker drives to the bucket with Yao underneath. But Parker gets intimidated and alters his layup attempt, and blows it! Yao tips the missed shot to Kenny Thomas, who starts a fast break. Although he won't get credit statistically, credit Yao's presence on this sequence!
1:11 Yao gets the ball on the right side of the bucket about 17 feet out. He's guarded one-on-one by Kevin Willis and holds onto the ball for about 5 seconds, and then decides to loft a jumper that misses.
:37.5 Tim Duncan checks out of the game, as does Yao for Kelvin Cato.

Yao has 9 points and 8 rebounds. At the end of the 1st quarter, the score is tied 21-21.
2nd quarter
5:01 On a perfectly timed play, Francis drives the lane from the left side while Yao enters the lane from the right. As he is running, Francis hooks a pass from about 3 feet inside the free throw line to Yao, who catches it in mid-air and lays it in off the glass! Beautiful play! Yao is now 4 of 9 from the field. The Rockets lead 38-33.
4:22 Assist On another beautifully timed play, Moochie passes the ball to Yao in his favorite spot on the left side. Moochie then takes off into the lane without the ball and YAO BOUNCES A PERFECT PASS TO MOOCHIE, WHO GOES UNCONTESTED FOR THE LAY UP! A great bang-bang play! THE CROWD JUMPS OUT OF THEIR SEAT! This is the same bounce pass that Yao has executed perfectly to Juaquin Hawkins over the past several games, only to have Hawkins fumble the ball out of bounds or miss the lay up. This time Moochie finishes! This is Yao's second assist tonight. He's showing everything tonight!
3:48 Francis passes the ball to Yao, who posts up Tim Duncan on the right side outside of the paint (opposite side of Yao's favorite spot on the left side). Yao immediately goes up for a fallaway jumper that hasn't been falling tonight like it normally does (see shots 1, 3, 5, 7, & 8) and BANG! Count it! Yao pumps his fist after breaking the dry spell from outside! And he did it in Tim Duncan's grill, who couldn't do anything but watch Yao's untouchable shot! The crowd is loving it! Yao is dominating. He's now 5 for 10 from the field. The Rockets have extended their lead to 42-33.

After this play, Spurs analyst Mike Dunleavy says, "Boy, he really extends up. He's 7'6" already, and then when he extends, he's got such a soft touch. You really gotta do a good job of forcing him away from the basketball."

"It makes so much sense to put the ball in his hands, with all his skills."
3:03 From his favorite left-side spot, Yao has Robinson on him. You can tell Yao wants to find an open man since he feels he has been shooting the ball too much, but since no one is open he shoots the fallaway jumper, but misses. Eddie Griffin grabs the offensive rebound...
2:53 ...a few seconds later, Griffin passes to Francis on the left side. Francis drives the lane and draws a crowd, and zips a waist-high bullet past Robinson to YAO, WHO IS STANDING 4 FEET FROM THE BASKET AND HAMMERS DOWN A TWO-HANDED 'FACIAL' DUNK OVER DUNCAN!! THE CROWD JUMPS FROM THEIR SEATS ONCE AGAIN!! You have to give credit to Yao for hustling and staying involved with the play, even after his missed shot! Yao is now 6 for 12 from the field, and has 15 points. Rockets lead 44-35.

Mike Dunleavy states: "I tell you what. Francis had nothing else in his mind but creating that shot for Yao Ming. These two guys are starting to develop some nice chemistry together."
2:10 Once again, Yao holds onto the ball in his favorite spot. Everyone of his teammates clears out for him. Not having anyone open, Yao just seems to say, "What the hell, I'll shoot it." Eighteen feet away from the basket, he turns toward the baseline for his patented fallaway jumper over Kevin Willis. The ball goes high in the air--almost to the same height of the shot clock--AND IT SWISHES THROUGH THE NET.

Mike Dunleavy sums it up best by saying awestruck, "That is SICK." Yao is 7 for 13 from the field with 17 points, and has taken over the game.
1:23 Feeding the hot hand, the Rockets clear out for Yao as he goes to his favorite spot. Yao pivots right and shoots another fadeaway, but this time it's a little too strong and it bounces off the back iron.

Yao finishes the half with 17 points on 7-14 shooting, with 11 rebounds. Amazing.
3rd quarter
12:00 Yao is starting, and the Rockets lead 49-39.
10:52 On a defensive rebound, Yao goes up high to tip the ball to himself, but it actually goes to Bruce Bowen underneath his own basket, and Bowen lays it in. This is the second time Yao has lost a tipped rebound in this game. He will need to rip these balls down and bring them in rather than trying to finesse the rebound. But hey, we're not complaining with the performance he's putting on.
9:55 From the right side outside the lane, Tim Duncan has Yao isolated one-on-one. Duncan dribbles left around Yao to go for a baby hook shot 4 feet from the basket, BUT YAO SLIDES WITH DUNCAN AND BLOCKS HIS SHOT AT THE APEX OF HIS SHOT! Roars erupt from Compaq after the block by Yao of the League MVP! This is Yao's first block of the game.
8:19 Jockeying for position in the paint on Robinson, Yao is fronted by the Admiral on the left side of the lane. Juaquin Hawkins throws an entry pass over-the-top to Yao, but Robinson tips it up into the air. HOWEVER YAO CATCHES THE TIPPED BALL IN MID-AIR AND SOFTLY LAYS IT IN ALL IN ONE MOTION! Yao looked like Jerry Rice on this play, showing great concentration as the defender tipped the ball in the air, but still having the presence of mind to put it in before the other defenders had a chance to react! What a smart play!

Dunleavy states: "You couldn't pick a handful of guys in the league who could make that play." Yao is 8-15 from the floor with 19 points. The Rockets lead 53-43.
6:45 After a missed Duncan free throw, Yao tips the ball but it goes back to Duncan about 10 feet from the basket. Duncan dishes to Robinson, who drives the lane and goes up for a crazy up-and-under shot, but Yao smacks it away with authority!
4:52 After the Spurs go on a 14-2 run, they have taken a 55-53 lead. Robinson shoots a jumper from the middle of the lane, but sensing that Yao is a few feet in front of him, hesitates on his shot and shoots it on the way down, but Yao is still able to tip it to record another block.
4:20 Hawkins delivers another pass to Yao over Robinson so that Yao has a relatively easy shot he can take over Bruce Bowen. But he decides to pass it off instead of going up for the shot, and Robinson recovers to defelect the pass for the steal. Yao should have definitely shot it, but like the rest of the Rockets, everyone is out of sync after blowing a 10 point lead.
3:47 The next time down the floor, Francis goes up for a jump shot from the right of the free throw circle, but passes off at the last second to Yao, who gets the ball all alone at the edge of the paint on the right side. Seeing Robinson in front of him, Yao dribbles once to establish position, pivots right toward the baseline and puts up a hook shot over Robinson for the bucket! Thank you! The Rockets needed that score. It was also interesting that Yao put the ball on the floor to draw contact from Robinson, rather go up for an uncontested jump shot. I guess Yao is more comfortable with having a body on him being so close to the basket rather than being wide open. Hakeem was the same way. He always liked the contact because it helped with his timing.

The Rockets tie the score at 55-55 on this shot. Yao is 9-16 from the floor.
2:08 Yao checks out of the game for Cato. The Rockets are down 59-60.

At the end of the quarter, the Rockets are down by three, 61-64. They were outscored 25-12 in this quarter while only shooting 31% from the field.
4th quarter
10:01 Yao checks back into the game for Cato. The Rockets are down 65-66.
6:37 Yao gets the ball at the right elbow of the paint facing the basket, pump fakes, then spins right and takes two steps down the side of the lane and shoots a leaning jumper, which misses. Yao showed his nimbleness on the spin move--we had never seen him start his spin move from the top of the free throw line.
3:40 Free
Throws On a loose ball on the defensive end, Yao is trying to grab the rebound. But Duncan wraps his arm around Yao's neck going after the loose ball. Duncan is called for his fourth foul, and he has the gall to complain about the foul after mugging Yao.

Yao gets to shoot free throws at the other end, and makes both. Yao is 5-5 from the line. The Rockets have an 80-73 lead.
3:03 Francis drives the lane, and Yao hustles to crash the boards in case Steve misses. Steve does miss off the back iron, BUT YAO RUNS PAST ROBINSON AND IS THERE TO SLAM HOME A DUNK WITH HIS RIGHT HAND! BIG BUCKET! The crowd rewards Yao for his effort! And give credit to Steve for driving the lane and putting up a shot, realizing Yao would trail behind him to clean up the mess. Moochie runs down the floor and bumps chests with Yao in celebration (of course, Moochie had to jump pretty high). The Rockets lead 82-73. Yao is 10 for 18 from the floor with 25 points.
:45.2 Free
Throws The Rockets go on to extend their lead to 12 points by holding the Spurs defensively. Yao is fouled by the Spurs to stop the clock, so Yao gets the opportunity to pad his stats with two free throws. He makes both to go 7-7 from the line! Yao finishes with 27 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks.

 

God must be a Rockets fan to have blessed us with so many talented big men in this franchise's history...

 

I'm all for celebratory chest bumps, but does anyone else realize their is only a handful of teammates Yao can bump with without it looking dirty?

 

That is a shame. Because we all know that basketball is an Aryan sport (for those ignorant trailer trash, that means white). Especially from San Antonio? You kidding me? But what are you gonna do? We won with the Chinaman and the Chinaman is good enough for me!

 

this is funny. You trying to slam someone for being un-pc, then turning around and using a term that most Chinese posters here take offense to someone using.

"Hello, pot? this is kettle..."

 

After the Lakers game in which Ming scored 20, a report on a Chinese website www.sina.com said that after the game, Shaq went out to Rox' team bus to wait for Ming, he offered his hand when Ming came out and said to him "Congrat., you played well tonight", Ming replied: "That's because you were not there", the reply seemed taken Shaq back a little, then he said: "I will be back soon", to which Ming replied: "I will be waiting".

I am not sure if this really happened since I haven't seen any report on this rather nice and intelligent exchange between the two here in the US. If it did, they are going to get alone just fine.

Can't wait to see Shaq and Ming together on the court in the All-Star game for the west.

 

I think it was pretty much established that the conversation in question never happened.

With all the media following YM all the time, don't you think that any conversation like this would have been reported by US news sources? It wasnt...anywhere. Also, many of our Chinese posters confirmed that sina.com is not the most reliable source for news.

Do us and yourself a favor, don't repeat stories that are of questionable veracity. it just snowballs into established fact if enough people believe them.

 

Lets color you amazed.

 

yea, that reminds me..

solid,
seeing any reasons for feeling optomistic yet?

for all of you that were predicting the complete failure by the Rockets against the Spurs. What do you think now?

if we can continue playin the style of ball we played last nite..I see very good things happening for us in the future.

 

May I ask what happened to that spurs' guard, Ginobili?
From the TV, I saw he was pretty upset by that foul.
Thanks.

 

Ming was excellent last night against some of the best big men in the game. Who wouldn't be optimistic about that?

I just hope that:

- we can stick with this offense. It has been very effective. Even if some players are getting less touches, a winning season with playoff experience should show them the light.

- Avoid injuries

- Get a set rotation, especially at the 4. Somone needs to step up and be the starter.

- Cut down on TO's and shoot in the mid to upper 40% range every night.

 

He looked like he probrably sprained an ankle. It probrably wasn't as bad as it looked but maybe the Spurs will keep him on the bench for precaution.

 

In the post-game comments, he made it sound like he didnt' even know who fouled him or how he got hurt. I think his frustration was just at the fact it was his ankle, again. I don't think he blames Yao.

It looked like a hard foul, but it wasn't really. Yao just slid over, and the collision wasn't that forceful. Manu just got unlucky with his foot placement and collapsed immediately.

 

Both teams stunk up the airwaves last night. (And to think ESPN actually thinks that San Antonio has a title shot!)

I thought Yao was fantastic. Hard to believe that he is just a rook. He was simply burning the Twin Towers (uh, bad pun).

Steve basically looked awful out there to me. You would think after 3 or 4 years in the league that he would be a lot more mature in his playmaking ability.

 

it wasn't a hard foul and definitely not intentional. if you watch the game, yao was standing next to ginobili the whole time he was on the floor trying to see if he was okay. pure class.

 

Francis doesn't seem comfortable out there unless, the game plan was the way it was on the first game vs Indiana. Posting Ming in the paint will give time for Francis to adjust from the one on one play that he is used to. We just need time. Hopefully it is just that and not an injury or migraine.

 

That's true. In one of the interview with the Chinese media, Yao mentioned that Mooch always tried to get him the ball when they were in the game. He joked that might be because both of them were bench players (before Yao was inserted into the starting line).

 

<blockquote><hr>Originally posted by xuxj
May I ask what happened to that spurs' guard, Ginobili?
From the TV, I saw he was pretty upset by that foul.
Thanks. <hr></blockquote>
No. All his histrionics punching the basket support was because he hurt his ankle again. He continued hitting stuff when he sat down with the trainer.

 

That really isn't a small ball lineup. It isn't three guards David. It is a tall athletic lineup that can handle the ball and play d.

For those that believe stevie should be moved to the two, this only added fuel to your fire.

I will grant that moochie will not always play that well, but allowing steve to key on defense and let the offense come to him as opposed to him having to run the offense sure looked good. Remember Francis had seven to .